


Our Lady Doc

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-11-30 00:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/693255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing scene from the episode "The Good Samaritan."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Lady Doc

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Green Floating Weirdness #12 under the pen name Angelica Cooper-Smith.

_"So, you're a hero, Colonel.  Lighten up."_

 

          Lieutenant Colonel Paul Ironhorse sat on the thick-carpeted floor, staring absently into the dying embers of the evening's blaze.  The rest of the Cottage residents were long asleep, but that respite eluded the brooding soldier.

          Knees drawn up, his arms wrapped around them, Ironhorse still couldn't fight off the chill that hung over him.  The warm glow of the fire did little to help.  It had been so close, closer than any of them had even dared contemplate, but on reflection it was so obvious.  And if things had gone wrong?

          His lips disappeared into a thin line of frustration and self-denigration.  Point blank: it would have been his fault.

          His responsibility.  His fault.

          It was his idea to steal the grain sample.  He should have done it.  Not—

          He stopped the thought cold, but it forced its way through.  Not the mother of a twelve-year-old child.

 _She's a goddamned civilian_ , he growled at himself.  _A civilian, not a soldier.  A mother.  And I let her walk right into a nest of aliens…_

          The image of Suzanne and Debi, sitting together in the wing-backed chair, smiling, laughing, flashed through his mind.

          Debi…

_And how the hell could I explain to her that I let her mom get killed?_

          He ground his molars.  This just wasn't the right way to run a military operation.  He couldn't do it all alone.  There were simply too many chances for something to go wrong; too many details to be taken into account.  He couldn't be with _all_ of the Project members, _all_ of the time.

          Wilson _had_ to give him more people.  An A-Team would be enough to start, but a full squad would be better.  It wasn't an unreasonable request.  Granted, it created its own set of problems, but if he'd had them…

_If I'd had them, Suzanne wouldn't have walked right into the alien's arms._

          Why they let her walk out was a mystery to the soldier.  Obviously Mason didn't know enough about her work; didn't suspect that there might be some kind of organized opposition to the invasion.

          If the aliens were at all like humans, the creature inhabiting Mason's body was just a soldier, not one of the leaders… maybe that was what saved her life.

_It sure as hell wasn't due to anything I did._

          The echo of quiet footfalls reached Ironhorse and he knew he was in for a confrontation.  The intruder bypassed the living room, heading for the kitchen.

          A few minutes later Harrison padded into the living room, two cups of coffee in hand.  He offered one to the colonel, who accepted, then sat down next to him.

          "Thinking about our lady doc?" Blackwood asked.

          Ironhorse took a sip of the coffee, staring at the embers.  He set the cup down on the hearth and used the poker to stir the glowing chunks of wood.  "Thinking about the entire situation, Doctor."

          Harrison waited while Ironhorse added two more small pieces of wood to the fire before he said, "I hope you're not feeling… responsible."

          "For?" Ironhorse asked, not bothering to look at the scientist.

          "For… whatever," Blackwood said, unable to come up with an example.  "Not capturing Mason.  Not getting the infiltrators at Mason's labs…"

          "Those events were outside my control, Doctor."

          "Exactly my point," Blackwood agreed.  "We did the best we could, and all in all, it was a damned good job.  We stopped the aliens from poisoning millions of innocent people all over the world."

          Ironhorse nodded once.

          Blackwood reached out and slapped Ironhorse's shoulder lightly.  "So, you're a hero, Colonel.  Lighten up."

          Ironhorse shot the astrophysicist a dark glare, then looked away.  "I was lucky, Doctor, nothing more."

          "You saved my life," Blackwood countered.

          "I did my job."

          Blackwood frowned.  "Be that as it may, I appreciate the effort."

          Ironhorse looked back to the scientist.  "I didn't mean that the way it sounded, Harrison."

          "Glad to hear it."  He watched the colonel return to his scrying.  "What _is_ bothering you?"

          At first it appeared that the colonel would decline to respond, but then he took a deep breath and said, "I was thinking about how close we came to losing Suzanne."

          "To big business?" Harrison teased.

          "No," the colonel replied coldly, "to the aliens."

          Blackwood was genuinely confused.  "I'm not following you."

          Ironhorse shifted slightly so he could speak directly to the scientist.  "Think about it, Harrison.  Mason was already taken over when Suzanne met with him at the Mason International Labs.  She walked right into a nest of aliens, with absolutely no backup, while we sat in the park and fed the pigeons."

          Harrison's thoughts whirled as he fitted the pieces together.  "My God, you're right."

          Ironhorse turned back to the fire.

          The obvious occurred to Blackwood.  "But she's fine.  You're not responsible."

          "I _am_ responsible," Ironhorse corrected.

          "But nothing happened."

          "That's not the point, Blackwood.  It could've gone very differently."

          "But it didn't.  Colonel," Harrison said.  "You can't take responsibility for might-have-beens."

          "I don't have a choice, Doctor.  The safety of this Project is my responsibility."

          "You're just one man."

          "That doesn't change a thing."

          Harrison sat in silence, considering the exchange.  He could hardly imagine the depth of responsibility the colonel shouldered.  It was ridiculous.  Far more than any one man could, or should, be held accountable for.

          Besides, he and Suzanne and Norton knew what they were getting involved in when they formed the Project.  They all knew the risks—

          Debi.

          The realization was swift and profound.  It wasn't he or Suzanne haunting the colonel, it was a twelve-year-old girl.  Ironhorse wasn't the control-freak that Harrison had been painting him.  He was man who desperately did not want to tell a child her mother was dead, killed by creatures from another planet.

          "What are you going to do?" he asked quietly.

          "Request more personnel."

          "That'll increase our chances of an information leak," Harrison stated.  "Not to mention the opportunity of infiltration."

          "There are precautions we can take to deal with those problems."

          "You think Wilson will agree?"

          Ironhorse nodded.  "But it'll take a while for the paperwork to get done, the unit authorized, and the personnel screened."

          "Until then?"

          "Until then I want Suzanne kept out of the line of fire."

          "It won't be easy."

          "It'll probably be impossible, but I'm going to do my best."

          Harrison nodded.  "That's all any of us can do."

          "It'll be enough."

          Both men turned.  Suzanne walked in and sank down on the other side of the colonel.  "I appreciate the concern, Paul," she said, "I really do, but even if we had known Mason was an alien, I would've gone in."

          "No—"

          "Yes, I would," she stated firmly.  "Because if we had known, someone would have had to go in there and see what they were doing, and I was the only one with an invitation."

          Ironhorse sighed heavily.  She was right.  "I still don't like it."

          "None of us likes it," Harrison said.  "But we're willing to deal with it."  He pushed himself up, then helped pull Suzanne to her feet.

          "Get some sleep, Paul," Suzanne said.

          "I will," he promised.

          The pair departed, leaving Ironhorse alone once more.  He watched the flames, dancing across the tops of the wood.  They were courageous people, but courage was no guarantee of survival.  He needed help.

          With a shiver, he allowed the fear he'd been holding at bay to sweep over him.  Suzanne was right.  One way or the other she would have had to go in.  It was just luck that had kept her safe.  His knowing would have changed nothing.

          It would be easier if they were soldiers.  Soldiers knew the risks.  They took an oath, put their lives on the line voluntarily.  They were trained to do just that.  There was no training Blackwood.  He could barely communicate with the man, let alone turn him into a soldier.  Suzanne was another matter.  Maybe he could train her; to use a gun if nothing else.  He'd have to broach the subject with her.

          And Debi…

          He sighed, accepting the fact that he might one day have to tell her Suzanne had been killed.  She was going to have to be a soldier of sorts, too.  It wasn't fair. She was only a child.  But he knew that war ignored age.

          All he could do was his best, and hope that their luck held.

          _Please, Grandfather_ , he thought.  _Let this fight be swift and successful._


End file.
